Leadership Development for Virginia's Largest Industry

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A wise man once said, sometime in your life you’ll need a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman and a preacher, but every day, three times a day, you need a farmer. (Paraphrasing Brenda Schoepp.) And all the people said, “Amen!”

There are many ways that we can now get our food from the farm to the kitchen table including farmer’s markets, meal prep and delivery services such as Blue Apron, and of course the ever popular grocery stores. Can you imagine life without grocery stores? (#yikes)

I’m not a picky eater, but I like my citrus from Florida, bananas from Guatemala, coffee from Columbia, fish from salt water, and peaches from South Carolina. Somewhere, there is a grocer stocking its shelves with the bread, milk, and wine necessary to weather spring snow blizzards. Wegmans graciously showed us just how they do it in the midst of preparation for the impending snowpocalypse. (#wesurvived)

What Wegmans impressed upon me was the reminder that consumers are the boss. What consumers want is what Wegmans wants to provide. The hardest product for Wegmans to fill consumer demand for is local organic produce. For organic farmers, that’s good news. Supply and demand, folks. Wegmans also served as a reminder that agriculture lives and thrives in our communities, regardless how much concrete may surround us. Agriculture is rural and urban, for the rich and the poor, for the young and the old. Because every day, three times a day, you need a farmer.

I extend great appreciation to Wegmans for its hospitality and for its exemplary community spirit!